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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · dip · race · rush · shower · game · deal · drill

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. shower — rain
  5. race — the arms race
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. drill — army training
  9. race — a contest
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com